South Korea’s May Emerald Co., the owner of the Vpresso Coffee chain in Vietnam, is planning to increase its number of coffee shops to 50 in the time to come after launching its 12th outlet on August 1 in Hanoi.

Ms. So Yeon Kim, PR Manager at May Emerald, said the company wishes to expand in Hanoi and move into Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, and Nha Trang. “We are also in the process of exporting high quality Vietnamese coffee beans and Vietnam’s coffee culture to other countries, including South Korea,” she told VET.

Vietnam is a leader in the production of coffee and its coffee market holds a lot of development potential, Mr. Sung Seung Hoon, CEO of May Emerald, said at the opening of the new outlet. “Many other brands are growing very well in traditional coffee but in order to develop faster we aim to diversify our types of coffee to meet increasing demand,” he added.

Arriving in Vietnam in 2011, Vpresso has increased its initial capital from $100,000 to $500,000 and has become a familiar brand for many young people.

Though viewing Vietnam’s coffee market as holding potential, many investors face a host of difficulties due to the tough competition.

The Singaporean coffee and dessert chain New York Dessert Coffee (NYDC) withdrew from Vietnam recently after seven years in the country after failing to establish a customer base.

With investment from its parent company, the SUTL Group, NYDC arrived in Vietnam in 2009 and young people were quickly attracted to its modern drinks menu and tasty American desserts such as cheesecakes and mud-pies. But due to the tough competition the Singaporean coffee chain couldn’t maintain business.

Trung Nguyen, Highlands Coffee and Starbucks are the three biggest names in Vietnam. Trung Nguyen has the most number of outlets but the other two also attract many customers.

After ten years in Vietnam, Highlands Coffee now has about 100 coffee shops, mostly in major cities. From the very beginning it positioned itself as the coffee shop for businesspeople and high-income earners.

Starbucks, which arrived in Vietnam two years ago, has over ten shops in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, which is small compared to its 12,000 shops worldwide.

Vietnam’s Trung Nguyen has over 1,000 coffee shops all over the country, with its flavor being its most outstanding characteristic.

Vinacafe Bien Hoa now holds 40 per cent of the instant coffee market share but has been quiet since the failure of its “real coffee” marketing campaign.

Nestle is the only major player to stand firm. Its Nescafe brand ranks second in the market in revenue but first in sales of 3-in-1 instant coffee.